Fashion influencer Lizzy Savetsky is slated to join the cast of The Real Housewives of New York on season 14, which will feature an entirely new cast of women.
A source told Page Six on Monday that Bravo is looking to change the chemistry on the long-running series.
‘Bravo found people aren’t responding as well to the constant bickering and fighting of the [previous] cast,’ and are ‘hoping that this new cast will be a bit more inspiring and attract the younger audience,’ the source said.
The newcomers to the cast of the series – who are set to replace Luann de Lesseps, Leah McSweeney, Sonja Morgan, Ramona Singer and Eboni K. Williams – are ‘women who have their own brands, or at least strong Instagram followings’ and are ‘already strong in the influencer space,’ the source said.
Savetsky is originally from Fort Worth, Texas and based out of New York, as she’s mother to three children with her husband Dr. Ira Savetsky, a plastic surgeon.
She has more than 201,000 followers on Instagram and often posts about her Jewish faith, the Yiddish language and her family.
She has also spoken candidly about battling alcohol abuse, as she told the outlet Aish last month that her last drink was July 31, 2021.
Savetsky told the outlet she realized she had hit her rock bottom when she ‘blacked out while hosting’ guests who had visited her home for Shabbat, adding, ‘I don’t remember anything until I woke up the next morning.’
She said that seeing her husband’s exasperation with her issued led her to realize she ‘could lose everything’ due to drinking.
‘That’s when I was willing to hand everything over to God and give this battle my all,’ she said. ‘The outside world wasn’t going to tell me to stop. It had to come from within.’
Previously, Leah McSweeney, who joined The Real Housewives of New York City in 2019, broke her sobriety after nine years of not consuming alcohol.
Luann de Lesseps, who is an original cast member of Real Housewives of New York City, has also battled alcoholism throughout her years on the show, including getting arrested for attacking a police officer in Palm Beach, Florida in 2017.
At the time, ‘she was charged with disorderly intoxication, battery of an officer/firefighter/EMT, resisting arrest with violence and threatening a public servant, according to the Today Show.
In March, after an ‘regrettable incident’ at the Townhouse of New York, a local LGBTQ bar, she issued an apology to the bar’s staff and admitted her ‘struggles with alcohol’ is ‘real.’
‘It’s one day at a time!’ she added. ‘I’m in recovery and taking steps to ensure this doesn’t happen again. I’m grateful to my family and my friends for their constant support. Sincerely, LuAnn.’
Last year, longtime RHONY vet Sonja Morgan has raised concerns from her costars, but has vehemently denied being an alcoholic.
During an episode last season, Morgan told her pals on the show: ‘I don’t drink alone, I don’t drink at home, I don’t drink on dates. I don’t go out and socialize like that, I just don’t.’
Savetsky is slated to join the cast at a time where behind-the-scenes rivalries have escalated to the point that the entire cast couldn’t be assembled for a reunion special.
Bravo is aiming to recast some of the RHONY cast members in a legacy series, sources told the outlet.
The show is also aiming to recruit Vera Wang SVP of global communications Priya Shukla for a role on the series, but she has yet to sign on as a full-time cast member, a source told the outlet.
